Improvement in weather-board gages



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M. MEFFORD, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE AMERICAN INVENTION COMPANY.

IMPROVEMENT IN WEATHER-BOARD GAGES.

Specificationformingpart of Letters Patent No. 159,597, dated February 9, 1875; application filed January 20, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID M. MEFFORD, of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Weather-Board Gages; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting and holding siding in place during the process of weather-boarding. It consists in a graduated slotted spring of any suitable material, in combination with blocks, a spur, and a thumb-screw, substantially as hereinafter described.

What I regard as one of thebest methods of constructing a siding-dog with aspring is set forth in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side view of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 a face view thereof.

In these drawings,A represents a slotted spring with a graduated scale on its face, and two blocks,B and G,attached to it. The lower block, B, has a spur, F, and is fixed in position. The upper block, 0, has a guide-screw through the slot in the spring, in which slot it can be moved and clamped by the thumbscrew D; or the upper block, C, may be made fixed in position, and the lower block B movable, and capable of being clamped in the slot by the thumb-screw, without departing from this invention.

In using this apparatus I, by the scale, adjust, and by the thumb-screw fasten, the movable block, so that the distance between the tops of the upper and lower blocks shall be the width that I lay the siding to the weather. I then run the spurF up under the lower edge of theboardlastnailed to the house, until the top of the spurred block is against that lower edge. The board to be next nailed on is then laid on the top of the upper block until fastened to the building. The leverage of the spring against the spur (due to the elasticity thereof) holds the dog firmly to its place, while the graduated scale makes it easy to adjust the proper distance between the blocks.

The spring may be made more or less powerful, and the blocks beveled or rectilinear, according as the hold of the dog is desired to be more or less firm.

The hole in the lower block is for the forefinger of the mechanic to aid in attaching the dog to, or removing it from, the building.

WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The graduated spring A, in combination with block, spur, and thumb-screw, substantiall y as hereinbefore specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own invention I affix my signature in presence of two'witnesses.

DAVID M. MEFFORD.

Witnesses:

J OHN A. WIEDEBSHEIM, A. P. GRANT. 

